1
as in wicked
tending to or exhibiting reckless playfulness
the children had been so mischievous that we had to pay the babysitter extra and then clean up the mess
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in naughty
engaging in or marked by childish misbehavior
punished for their mischievous tricks on the neighbors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in dangerous
causing or capable of causing harm
mischievous gossip that ruined a good teacher's reputation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mischievous
And then at night a mischievous traitor that will be murdering people.
—
Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2026
Burnett pauses, considers the question, and then flashes a mischievous grin.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Jan. 2026
Dave, feeling mischievous, ushered them towards a window seat and what, on the face of it, seemed a prime spot.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2025
The roots of the mischievous elves are in metro Atlanta.
—Faysal Aalen, CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mischievous
Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2026
Burnett pauses, considers the question, and then flashes a mischievous grin.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Jan. 2026
Dave, feeling mischievous, ushered them towards a window seat and what, on the face of it, seemed a prime spot.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2025
The roots of the mischievous elves are in metro Atlanta.
—Faysal Aalen, CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mischievous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mischievous
Adjective
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Jonathan Lekkerimäki’s next step Lekkerimäki electrified the Rogers Arena crowd on Saturday night with a wicked catch-and-release goal from the high slot to open the scoring against Toronto.—
Harman Dayal,
New York Times,
2 Feb. 2026
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As Traitors host and executive producer, Cumming is diabolical, but there’s no sleep for the wicked.—
Jonathan Borge,
InStyle,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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A little naughty, a little nice, kitten heels offer nine-to-five wear in polished yet practical form.—
Andrea Zendejas,
Vogue,
22 Jan. 2026
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More like raw, bold, and sometimes a little naughty.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
15 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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More than a billion phones are now ineligible for security updates at a time when the threat landscape has never been more dangerous.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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The church opened its warming center over the weekend, anticipating the arrival of the winter storm and the dangerous drop in temperatures.—
Leondra Head,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Think pét-nat’s playful fizz, fancy kombucha in a wine bottle, zero-proof sparklers, including Elton John’s new bubbly.—
Lanee Lee,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Bags This playful, socially minded brand from Spain was created four years ago by Paloma Hernández Tamame, and creates colorful, customizable handbags with decor using children’s construction blocks.—
Alex Wynne,
Footwear News,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Azzi Fudd scored 27 points and Sarah Strong added 26 to help UConn beat Tennessee, handing the Lady Vols their worst loss in the storied rivalry.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 Feb. 2026
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To that end, here’s a selection of the best (and most enjoyably bad) literary film and TV coming to streaming services this month.—
Emily Temple,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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While skepticism toward artificial intelligence is understandable, dismissing AI as inherently harmful overlooks both history and reality.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Jan. 2026
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Regulators will examine whether Grok is living up to its obligations under the Digital Services Act, the bloc’s wide-ranging rulebook for keeping internet users safe from harmful content and products.—
Kelvin Chan,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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However, while trying to confront grief with a sense of mischief, the movie’s impish tonal approach takes the sting out of death a little too often, rendering its catharsis null.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
23 Jan. 2026
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The disjunction between the abstract composition and the notion of self-portraiture appeared perplexing in its own right; its inoperability only exacerbated the viewer’s frustration and redoubled the artist’s impish provocation.—
Ara H. Merjian,
Artforum,
1 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Affected cosmetics that are applied to the skin or eyes may lead to skin irritation, infection, or other adverse reactions.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
30 Jan. 2026
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Even for women whose initial mammograms didn’t show any calcium buildup and were considered low risk, risk of an adverse cardiac incident increased by 41% if buildup was detected on followups.—
Helen Carefoot,
Flow Space,
30 Jan. 2026
Video
'Mispronunciations' That May Be Fine
'Mischievous,' 'nuclear,' and other words to pronounce with caution.
Cite this Entry
“Mischievous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mischievous. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
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